Antimicrobial activity of methanol extract and fraction from mugwort leaves(Artemisia princeps val. orientalis) was investigated for the screening of natural antiwucroblal components. By using agar diffusion method, ethyl acetate(EtOAc) layer fractionated from methanol extract of mugwort leaves showed the highest inhibitory effects against tested microorganisms. The ortho-coumaric acid(200∼600ppm) isolated from EtOAc layer showed strong antibacterial activities for Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhimurium. As derivatives of o-coumaric acid, antibacterial activity of para-coumaric acid was 1.2∼1.7 fold higher than that of o-coumaric acid. Three types of coumaric acids strong inhibited the growth of B. subtilis in the culture medium. Growth of S. tyhimurium, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were effectively inhibited by o-, m- and p-coumaric acids, respectively. Minimum inhibitory dose of p-coumaric acid for B. subtilis was $100∼200mu extrm{g}$/paper disk.